110 



THE ILLmOIS FAEMER. 



Apeil 



Hart N. Morris manufactured 1,000 gallons of 

 sirup from six acres of cane. He exhibited some 

 very nice sirup. He cut his cane October 13th, 

 placed it in a large pile, under a shed at the nortli 

 side of his barn, and kept it dry. He -worked it 

 np on the 15th of November. He feels confident 

 that if cine is cut up before a hard frost, it will 

 keep for months, and will make excellent sirup, 

 if on'y kept dry. It thould be put in when 

 there is no dew on it. 



Mr. Gile=< said that green cane cut up in the 

 middle of September, and kept in a pile, not cov- 

 ered, and worked in the middle of November, 

 would make good sirup, and he exhibited samples 

 thu3 mado which were esteemed better than that 

 obtained from green cane just cut. 



Mr. Morris thought cane raised on barrens 

 made better sirup than from any other land, and 

 in this Mr. Choate agreed. He thought coal 

 much better than wood to boil with, as it pro- 

 duced quicker evaporation and made better sirup. 

 He took the fi-st premium for sirup at the county 

 fair in ISGO, and he used coal instead of wood for 

 evaporation. 



0. W. Giles manufactured 1,600 gallons of 

 sirup in 1860. He was of opinion that much de- 

 pended on securing the cane before hard frost, 

 even if cut green. 



Joseph H. Brigham exhibited sirup made from 

 Sorgtium, Imphee and Sugar Millett. lu his es- 

 timation, the last named will prove the best va- 

 riety. He thinks large canes not so rich as the 

 smaller ones. He used four sheet iron pans set 

 on an arch, and made a barrel of sirup in six 

 hours. He made 1,400 gallons in all in 1860. 



John Masters manufactured 300 gallons of 

 sirup. He exhibited some sirup from Sorghum 

 and Home from Imphee. The Imphee cane was 

 frozen solid. When ground, the juice looked 

 like soap suds, and he did not suppose it would 

 make anything, but concluded to try it. He 

 boiled it until he thought it would do for sirup. 

 When cool, to his utter astonishment it proved to 

 be about one-third sugar. He w^s confident 

 Sorghunv-would not produce sugar in such a state 

 He thinks the only difficulty in making sugar 

 from Imphee is in gt;tiiug it dry. 



Various, persons estimated the cost of raising 

 and manufacture of sirup at from twenty to forty 

 cents per gallon. 



Those wiio had seen sirup manufactured by 

 steam, thought that the best and cheapest mode, 

 aa it would make cleaner sirup than pans. 



All agreed that the sirup, in cooking, should be 

 well c'eaased, and that made from frozen cane 

 was apt to burn to the bottom of the pans, while 

 no dithculty was experienced in this respect from 

 that not frozen. 



John Belangee had planted his cane and corn 

 side by side very early. Both'came up very well, 

 but hard frosts cut the co.-n down completely, 

 while it left the cane uninjured. 



E. S. Phelps, Jr., had the same experience as 

 Mr. Belangee. In 1859 his corn, vines, etc., were 

 completely killed by the frost, while his Sorghum 

 was not hurt. 



L C. Field, of Galesburg, had a friend who 

 planted his cane in a hot bed, and when about 

 six inches high, transplanted it into the field. 

 Ha raised the best crop of cane he had ever seen. 



E S. Phelps, Jr., had transplanted considera- 

 ble, in 1860, with decided success. It was as 

 easy to transplant as cabbages. He transplanted 

 in dry, hot weather, when cabbages would have 

 died, and most of it grew well. 



The necessity of having better machinery and 

 arrangements for manufacture was discussed at 

 length, and courage and perseverance was recom- 

 mended to all. 



0. W. Giles, of Wyanet; Hart N Morris, of 

 Arispe, and Samuel L. Choate, of Indiantown, 

 were appointed a committee to have the subject 

 in charge for the ensuing year. 



In regard to the above convention, the Bureau 

 county Republican, from whose report we con- 

 dense the above proceedings, says: 



" Tfafre certainly can be no longer any doubt 

 entertained of the ultimate successof cane grow- 

 ing in this county. Our farmers, during the past 

 four years have given much attention to this new 

 branch of agricultural industry, and the result 

 has been that within the last two years nearly, if 

 not quite one-half the sirup consumed in the 

 county has been manufactured at home. The 

 quality of the sirup exhibited at the late conven- 

 tion was equal to the best golden sirup from New 

 Orleans, free fmm any unpleasant flavor, and 

 more pleasing to our taste than any other sirup 

 except the maple. Mr. John Masters, of Dover, 

 brought us two gallons made by himself, which 

 cannot be surpassed in any market. Mr. Mas- 

 ters has also made some very handsome sugar. 

 There was a very large amount of cane lost, ow- 

 ing to the scarcity of the mills. Messrs. Miller 

 & Christraan sold about one hundred, and all they 

 were able to manufacture. We trust there will 

 be mills sufficient for the coming season." 



There is no question that Sorghum sirup for 

 cooking purposes is more valuable than that 

 made from cane. It appears to give a lightness 

 to the pastry not otherwise found, but for tible 

 use we prefer the cano golden sirup. We have 

 never seen any clarified like the golden sirup, 

 and cannot therefore speak of it from personal 

 knowledge. We acknowledge to a greater faith 

 in its sugar making value than formerly, It has 

 now become to the prairie farmer what maple or_ 

 chards are to the timber sections, a necessity and 

 a profitable investment. Ed. 



«•» 



[From the N. Y. Evening Post.] 



Illinois and its Elements of Prosperity. 



There are two laws, distinct in their nature, 

 which seem to have controlled the growth of 

 States up to this period — the natural increase of 

 a fixed population, and growth by immigration. 

 Those States which from natural causes have re- 

 tained both of these elements of growth, have 

 reached and held the first positions; but in the 

 majority of cases, increase by immigration is felt 

 chiefly in the early period of the existence of a 

 State, and it then depends upon the natural in- 

 crease of its own population for the maintenance 

 of its position and power. It requires a combi- 



